Door sealing construction



May 3, 1960 H. SHEKTER DOOR SEALING CONSTRUCTION Filed Nov. 5, 1956HENRY SHEKTER ATTORNEY United States I DOOR SEALING CONSTRUCTION HenryShelrter, Miami Beach, Fla. Application November 5, 1956, SerialNo.620,260

3 Claims. (CI. 20-69) The present invention relates to a door sealingdevice. More particularly, the present invention relates to a devlce forsealing the bottom of a door on a threshold.

In the normal construction of an outside door for a dwelling, the bottomand sides thereof are provided with conventional weather-stripping thatis adapted to prevent drafts, water, insects and other outside elements,from filtering between the door and door frame into the interior of thehouse. Quite frequently, the weather-stripping, which is secured to thedoor and is made of metal, does not make proper contact with thecomplementary sealing element secured to the door frame and a spaceeventually develops between the door and frame and particularly betweenthe bottom edge of the door and the doorway threshold. In many basementdoor constructions, a weather-stripping device is not even provided forthe bottom of the door and water that accumulates on the door stoop anddrains into the basement, presents .a serious problem.

Prior to the instant invention, attempts have been made to solve theproblem of sealing door bottoms with the door threshold by utilizingvarious constructions which are applied either to the threshold or tothe bottom edge of the door. However, these heretofore known sealingdevices have either been complicated in structure, thereby beingeconomically undesirable, and also requiring the use of a skilledmechanic for the installation thereof, or they did not adequately sealthe door bottom and there fore did not prevent leakage and drafts fromentering between the door bottom and the door threshold. Moretion andeffective in operation.

Another object of the present invention is to provide a door sealingconstruction and includes a minimum of parts with a maximum of sealingefficiency.

Still another object of the invention is to provide a metal channelsection that positively receives the sealing member therein to form acompact unitary sealing device.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide a sealingmember that is self-adjusting in sealing relationship with the thresholdwith which it makes contact.

Still another object of the present invention is to provide I a vinylplastic sealing device that cooperates with a metal channel section toprovide an effective seal between the threshold and the bottom of thedoor to which it is i applied.

Still another object of the present invention is to pro- :yide a sealingdevice which includes a sealing member r Patented May 3, 1960 ice havinga leading edge of reduced vertical dimension, thereby providing for aneffective sealing action with the threshold with which the sealingmember makes contact.

Other objects and the nature and advantages of the instant inventionwill be apparent from the following description taken in conjunctionwith the accompanying drawings, wherein:

Fig. 1 is a perspective view of an outside door with the sealing deviceembodied in the present invention mounted on the bottommost edgethereof.

Fig. 2 is an enlarged perspective view of the sealing device illustratedin Fig. 1 prior to contact thereof with the threshold of the door frame.

Fig. 3 is a vertical sectional view of the sealing device shown in Fig.2 after it has been moved into sealing engagement with the threshold;and

Fig. 4 is a vertical sectional view of a modified form of the inventionshowing the position of the sealing member prior to contact thereof withthe doorway threshold.

The present invention is adaptable for use with most conventional styledoors and may be applied either to wooden or metal doors as desired. Thesealing device has particular application as a threshold sealing member,although it is understood that the sealing principle involved herein mayalso be employed to seal the door within an entire door frame.

Referring now to the drawings, and particularly to Fig. 1, aconventional door of any convenient design or size is illustrated and isindicated at 10. The door 10 is adapted to make sealing contact with athreshold 12 disposed at the bottom of the doorway frame. The sealingdevice embodied in the present invention is secured to the bottommostedge of the door 10, being generally indicated at 14 and is adapted toseal the bottom of the door 10 with the threshold 12 upon contacttherewith.

*The door 10 which may be of any conventional construction is pivotallymounted in the usual manner on hinges 16 that are secured to the doorframe 18. The sealing device 14 is secured to the bottommost edge of thedoor and as shown particularly in Figs. 2 and 3 includes a U-shapedchannel section 20 and a sealing member generally indicated at 22. TheU-shaped channel section 26 is formed of a light weight corrosionresistant material such as aluminum or the like, and it is seen may beextruded in various forms, depending on the needs required. For example,the channel section may be formed to fit a conventional 1% inch door asseen in Figs. 2 and 3 or formed to fit a conventional 1% inch door asseen in Fig. 4. The side walls of the U-shaped channel section 20 mayalso be formed with a decorative design if it is so desired.

Referring to Fig. 3 in particular, the channel section 2! is shownincluding side walls 24 and 26 and a bottom wall 28 integrally joined tothe side walls. In the form of the invention illustrated, in thedrawings, the side walls 24, 26 are provided with longitudinallyextending grooves 30 that are provided for decorative purposes and lendan attractive appearance to'the channel'section. As

shown in Fig. 1, screws 32 or the like are utilized to secure thechannel section 20 to the lower-most edge of the door 10 and extendthrough openings provided in the side walls 24 and 26. Formed integralwith the bottom wall 28 on the underside thereof are longitudinallyextending, spaced, parallel projections 34 and 36. Formedsealing'rnember 22 to produce an effective seal. threshold 12, which isconventional in construction and maybe formed in various ways withoutdeparting from the spirit of theinvention, furtherincludes a verticalfront wall 68 that is adapted to cooperate with the curved "beencompressed.

nesasoa material such as a vinyl plastic and is adapted to resist weardue to weather exposure, differences in temperature, or contact with thedoorway threshold. When secured to the channel section 20, thes'eali'ngmember 22 defines aclosed pocket which-is indicated by thelongitudinallyextending passage 42. The fiexible's'ealing member 22includes a curved bottom Wall 44 that is .joined to ='a-leading edge '46and a trailing'edge 48, the =le'adingedge 46 being somewhat more reducedin vertical dimension than the trailing edge 43.

The curved bottom wall '44 is thus formed with a slope that graduallyincreases toward the trailing edge 48, thereby enabling thesealing'device to more effectively engage the threshold 12.

'ing'rib 56. Joined to the stifiening rib 56 is an upper 'vertical wall58 which is formed with abeaded edge 69 .on-theuppermost edge thereof.The beaded edge 60 'has a 'T-shaped configuration and is adapted to beslidably received by the T shaped opening' itl in close fitting relationtherewith. It is seen'that the sealing member 22 is easily and quicklyassembled with the channel section 20 by simply sliding the beaded edges52 and '60 into the slots 38 and 40 respectively. The corre- "spondingT-shaped beaded edges 52, 60 and T-shaped slots 38 and 40 form apositive fastening means that securely retains the channel section 20and sealing mem- 'ber 22 in assembled position.

When the door 19 is moved to a closed position, the sealing device 14 isadapted to make contact with the threshold 12 in sealing engagementtherewith. As shown in Fig. 3, the threshold 12 is formed with a topwall 62 that is' joined to a curved rear wall 64. The top wall 62 haslongitudinally extending grooves 66 formed therein that cooperate withthe curved flexible wall 44 of the The rear wall 62 for supporting thethreshold top wall 64 in :proper position for receiving the sealingmember 22 in sliding engagement therewith.

As-shown in Figs. 1 and 2, the door is ajar and the ise'aling member 22is located in the distended or normal position. When the door is movedinto contact with the threshold 12, the shortened leading edge 46strikes the'threshold top wall 62. Sliding contact between the sealingmember 22 and the threshold 12 is thus easily effected in the firstinstance.

As the door is moved toward the fully closed position, the sealingmember 22 closed position and the major portion of the curved bottomWall 44 is forced into a horizontal plane on the surface of thethreshold top wall 64.

The short vertical wall' 5'4 of the leading edge 46 is slightlydeformed, but the'rnajor deformation of the sealing member 22 hasoccurred at the trailing edge 48 Where the vertical dimension of thesealing member 22 is the greatest. The lower vertical wall 54 issubstantially doubled on the adjacent curved wall 44, and the stiffeningrib 56 has However, the stiffening action of the rib 56 has increasedthe sealing action of the bottom wall 44 on the threshold top wall 4-4.The upper vertical "wall 58 is substantially unchanged inpositiomthe-great- 'to the door bottom by screws.

4 est deformation of the trailing edge beingproduced in the generalregion of the sealing member bottom wall 44, lower vertical wall 54-andstiffening rib 56. It is seen that there is a line of increasingpressure extending from the short vertical wall 54 of the sealing memberleading edge 46 to the collapsed rib 56 and lower vertical wall of thesealing member trailing edge. Thus, the seal that is formed between thethreshold top wall 64 and the sealing member 44 is an extremely positiveone and is effective in preventing drafts, water and insects frominfiltrating therethrough.

The'sealing action of the sealing member 44 is not only positive inoperation, but is self-adjusting, being adapted to seal itself inaccordance with the space provided between the bottom of the door 10 andthe threshold 12. Thus, the'sealing device embodied herein is adaptablefor use in substantially every instance where door seals are required ornecessary and will be effective in preventing cold drafts, wind-drivenrain, snow and small insects from entering between the door bottom andthe threshold. By reason of the positive sealing action of the sealingdevice on the threshold, the threshold is more positively moved intoengagement with the floor to which it is secured and thus leakage ofdrafts and water between the threshold and floor is also prevented.

The sealing device embodied in the present invention is simply andquickly installed on a door, it only being necessary to slide thechannel'section 20 on the bottom of a door and then securing thesidewalls 16 and 18 It is understood that the sealing member 22 ispreassembled with the channel section 21) by slidably moving the beadededges 52 and 60 into the slots 38 and 40 respectively.

In the modified form of the invention illustrated in Fig. 4, the sealingmember is identical to the sealing member 22 illustrated in Figs. 1-3.The U-shapedchannel section of the modified construction is indicated at70 and is similar to the channel section 20, being adapted to beapplied'to a door of somewhat greater'thickness than the channel section20. In order to compensate for the increase inthe dimension of thechannel section 70, me bottom wall indicated at 72 is formed withindented projections 74 and 76 on the lowermost side thereof which areprovided with slots for receiving therein the beaded edges 52 and 60 ofthe sealing member 22. The projections 74, 76 are indented from spacedside walls 78 and 30 which are joined to the bottom wall 72-, the spacedprojections defining the shoulders 82 and 84 respectively. It is seenthat the sealing member 22 remains unchanged regardless of the size ofthe channel section or regardless of the door thickness. In Fig. 4 thesealing action of the sealing member 22 on the threshold 12 is the sameas described above in connection with Figs. 1-3 and it isseen that theseal thus produced is effective to prevent the egress of wind, rain,drafts, and insects. The sealprovided by the channel section and sealingmember in both forms of the invention is :positive, the plastic sealingmember being effective to maintain a long life and thereby assuring acapable and serviceable seal at all times.

It will be obvious to those skilled inthe art that various changes maybe made without departing from the spirit of the invention and thereforethe invention is not limited to what is shown in the drawings anddescribed in the specification but only as indicated in themembersecured to said channel section, .said .sealin'g sealing member inarched position on the lowermost side of said channel section.

2. In a threshold sealing device, a door, a longitudinally extendingchannel section secured to the lowermost edge of said door, said channelsection including spaced parallel side walls and a bottom wall joined tosaid side walls, said bottom wall having spaced parallel longitudinallyextending projections joined to the underside thereof, said projectionshaving longitudinally extending slots formed therein, and a flexiblesealing member secured to said channel section, said sealing memberbeing spaced from said bottom wall and defining a hollow pockettherewith, said sealing member including a curved wall that is adaptedto contact a threshold, in sealing engagement therewith, said curvedwall being joined by a leading and a trailing edge, said 'leading' edgeincluding a vertical wall formed integral withsaid curved wall andhaving a beaded edge joined to the outermost end thereof, said trailingedge includinga lower vertical wall joined to said curved wall, a ribsection joined to said lower vertical wall, and an upper vertical walljoined to said rib section, said curved wall being inclined in anincreasing direction toward said trailing edge, whereby the sealingaction of said.

sealing member is positively elfected when said sealing member islocated in contact with a doorway threshold.

3. In a threshold sealing device, a door, a longitudinally extendingchannel section secured to the lowermost edge of said door, said channelsection having spaced parallel longitudinally extending slots formed onthe underside thereof, and a flexible sealing member secured to saidchannel section, said sealing member including an arched section joinedby a leading and trailing edge, said leading edge being defined by avertical wall having a beaded edge joined to the uppermost end thereofand positioned in one of said slots, said trailing edge including avertical wall having a beaded edge joined to the uppermost end thereofand positioned in the other of said slots and means for stiffening saidtrailing edge, said stiflening means interconnecting said arched sectionand said trailing edge vertical wall and providing for elfective sealingaction with said threshold when said door is moved to the closedposition thereof.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS1,192,361 Wistrom July 25, 1916 1,506,311 Knight Aug. 26, 1924 1,527,739Leach Feb. 24, 1925 1,991,776 Gail Feb. 19, 1935 2,089,669 Shadford Aug.10, 1937 2,095,669 Kunkel Oct. 12, 1937 2,663,057 Uphofi Dec. 22, 19532,718,677 Cornell Sept. 27, 1955 2,736,076 Bush et a1. Feb. 28, 19562,739,357 Seabrook Mar. 27, 1956

